Systems and methods for testing resistance based on customer specific wires

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a testing device or apparatus configured to test PTP contacts of user-specified cables capable of transmitting electrical signals along a particular path between two points, such as between a transmitter and a receiver.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present non-provisional application claims priority to co-pendingU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/136,244 entitled “CABLEXCHECKER,”filed on Mar. 20, 2015, and which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus, system, and/ordevice for checking the electrical continuity of conductors, cables,and/or other contacts, and in particular, the checking of point-to-pointcontacts of cables.

BACKGROUND

A continuity checker represents a type of electrical test equipment thatis often used to determine whether an electrical path can be establishedbetween two points of an electrical system. For example, when aconductor cable is employed to connect two points, such two terminaldevices, it is often necessary to perform tests to verify that anelectrical connection has been established between the two points. Thus,the cables may be tested to verify that: 1) all intended connectionsexist; 2) no unintended connections exists; 3) there are no miswirings;etc.

Point-To-Point (“PTP”) represents a methodology commonly used to depictthe physical wiring of a given electrical system, or apparatus. Forexample, a PTP diagram typically illustrates how electrical devices arephysically connected via cables and wires. It is with these aspects inmind that aspects of the present disclosure were conceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure set forth herein will be apparent from the followingdescription of particular embodiments of those inventive concepts, asillustrated in the accompanying drawings. Also, in the drawings the likereference characters refer to the same parts throughout the differentviews. The drawings depict only typical embodiments of the presentdisclosure and, therefore, are not to be considered limiting in scope.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a testing apparatus, according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of a testing apparatus, according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 provides an example illustration of a process for testing acable, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another testing apparatus, according to oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a testing device or apparatusconfigured to test PTP contacts of user-specified cables capable oftransmitting electrical signals along a particular path between twopoints, such as between a transmitter and a receiver. In variousaspects, the testing device or apparatus may include a series ofelectrical connectors. Generally speaking, electrical connectors operateby connecting ground and power terminals of respective connectorelements together in a manner that facilitates electrical continuitybetween the respective elements. Thus, electrical connectors representelectro-mechanical devices for joining electrical circuits as aninterface.

In various embodiments, the electrical connectors of the testingapparatus may be implemented or otherwise designed according to auser-specified wiring diagram, such as a PTP wiring diagram. Generallyspeaking, PTP represents a methodology commonly used to depict thephysical wiring of a given electrical system, or apparatus. For example,a PTP diagram will often illustrate how a given device is physicallyconnected to wires, namely the actual PTP wiring connections, systemcomponent interconnections, used and unused terminal designations andterminal boards, wire run layouts, and/or the like. Instead of buildingout cables for testing, the testing devices and/or apparatuses describedherein are implemented based on a customer's existing connectors and/orcables, as described in a PTP wiring diagram. Although the variousexamples described herein refer to PTP wiring diagrams, it iscontemplated that any type of wiring diagram may be used.

FIG. 1A provides an illustration of a testing fixture and/or apparatus100 that may be used to test cables and/or wires for potentialcontinuity issues, according to one embodiment. As illustrated, thetesting fixture and/or apparatus includes a housing/casing 132 havingthe external appearance of a square and/or rectangular box. Cableconnector ends 136 and 138 allow customer cables for test to beconnected or otherwise plugged into the housing/casing 132 of thetesting fixture and/or apparatus 100.

The testing fixture and/or apparatus 100 further includes a top portionor lid 103 that is operatively connected to the housing/casing 132 andwhich displays a series of visual indicators (collectively referenced as134) that protrude from the lid 103 of the housing/casing 132. Forexample, in one embodiment, the visual indicators may be one more lightemitting diodes (LEDs) mounted within the housing/casing 132 that areoperatively interconnected within the circuitry of the housing/casing132, as will be further described in detail below. The visual indicators144 provide a visual indication of the continuity of the cable beingtested. For example and as will be further described in detail below,depending on which visual indicator 134 is illuminated, it can bedetermined whether the cable (and/or portion of the cable) provides agood, consistent, and/or strong signal, contains a loss of continuity,contains shortages, is improperly wired, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, the testing fixture and/or apparatus 100 mayfurther include a dial 134 that may be manipulated by an operator toidentify a specific zone of the customer cable for testing. Stateddifferently, manipulation of the dial 144 may cause the testing fixtureand/or apparatus 100 to automatically test the customer cable connectedto the testing fixture and/or apparatus 100 within an applicable zone146 that corresponds to different wires of the cable being tested. Inother embodiments, the testing fixture and/or apparatus 100 may includea test probe 148 that is operatively interconnected with the circuitryof the housing/casing 132. The test probe 148 may be used to test thecontinuity of ground connections, which corresponds to a particularvisual indicator indicating the success of the connection to the groundat 140.

FIG. 1B provides an illustration of a schematic of circuitry 122 thatmay be included or otherwise implemented within the testing fixtureand/or apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 1A. In the illustratedembodiment, the circuitry 122 of the testing apparatus 100 includes afirst connector 101 that was implemented according to a user-specifiedwiring diagram. Thus, in one embodiment, the various connectors of thetesting device and/or apparatus 100 may be designed according to theuser-specified wiring diagram.

Referring again to FIG. 1B, the first connector 101 includes a firstconnector pin that is wired to a first wire 104 of a cable identifiedfor testing, collectively referred to herein as a Zone 1+ Pin 1(illustrated at 106). The Zone 1+ Pin 1 may be operatively attachedand/or otherwise connected (e.g., soldered) to one or more lightemitting diodes (“LED”) (e.g., a blue colored LED) 108 on the anodeside, although other arrangements are contemplated. Stated differently,one or more LEDs mounted in the housing are operatively interconnectedwith the housing/casing 132. In such an embodiment, the cathode side maybe operatively connected (e.g., soldered) to another, different wire110, that is connected or otherwise attached to some form of a resister112 (e.g., a 1K ohm resister) and a battery or power source 114 (e.g., a9 volt battery), thereby completing the circuit for the first connector101. Similar connections are completed for each wire in the cable,wherein each wire includes a corresponding LED. In one embodiment, thecorresponding LED may be determined according to the specific connecterpin number PTP wiring diagram used to implement or otherwise design thetesting apparatus 100.

The testing apparatus 100 may include a second connector 115 thatoperates similar to connector 101. The connector 115 includes a secondconnector pin 116 that is wired to a second wire identified for testing,collectively referred to herein as a Zone 1+ Pin 2 (illustrated at 118).The Zone 1+ Pin 2 118 may also be operatively connected (e.g., soldered)to a single pole 124 throw away rotary switch that includes a wireattached to the power supply. In other embodiments, the may be connectedto the D/C ground which in turn is connected to the power source 114.The connection process is completed for each wire in the cable, whereineach wire includes a corresponding LED. In one embodiment, thecorresponding LED may be determined according to the specific connecterpin number PTP wiring diagram used to implement or otherwise design thetesting apparatus 100.

Each of the connectors—the first connector 101 and the second connector115—may be operatively connected to one or more ground connections 119.In one embodiment, a wire of the cable may be placed on all of theconnector grounds in parallel and soldered to an LED (e.g., a green LED)on the anode side. In such an embodiment, the cathode side of the LED isconnected (e.g., soldered) to another wire that is attached to a 1K ohmresister and the power source 114.

Referring again to FIG. 1B, the testing apparatus 100 may include a testlead 126 that is used to manually test the cable. The test lead 126 isconfigured to be inserted into a banana jack plug 128 (in theillustrated embodiment a banana jack plug), which has a wire connectedto the solder pin and is attached to the power source 114, such as tothe negative of a 9 volt battery. In another embodiment, the powersource may be connected to the ground power source (this completes thecircuit for the test lead).

FIG. 2 provides an illustration of a process 200 for employing a testingapparatus (e.g., the testing apparatus 100) to test a cable designatedby a user. As illustrated, at 202, process 200 begins with pluggingcable wire ends into the appropriate connectors on each side of thetesting apparatus. In one embodiment, the connections may be color-codedto identify the type of cable being connected to the device. Forexample, the connection may be red to indicate a heater cable and blueto indicate thermocouple cables. At 204, user-input is provided to thetesting apparatus to indicate which zone (e.g., Zone 1 or Zone 2) iscurrently being tested by the testing apparatus. FIG. 3 provides anillustration of a user providing input to the testing apparatus (e.g.,the test apparatus 100) and a corresponding Zone being illuminated,according to one embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment, a dial 302operatively connected to the housing 304 of the testing apparatus 300 ismanipulated to identify Zone 1. When the dial 302 is properlymanipulated against a dial guide 303, the LED corresponding to Zone 1 ispotentially illuminated (illustrated at 306). To identify Zone 2, thedial 302 is again manipulated to the appropriate section of the dialguide 303 to identify Zone 2. When the dial 302 is properly manipulatedagainst the dial guide 303, the LED corresponding to Zone 2 ispotentially illuminated. The process for identifying Zones using thedial 302 is continued for each zone as necessary, will potentiallyilluminating the corresponding LED.

Referring again to FIG. 2, at 206, in response to the identified zoneand corresponding LED, the output of each respective LED is analyzed todetermine the continuity of the cable currently being tested. In oneembodiment, when each identified zone illuminates the correct LED, thecable includes good continuity. Alternatively, when any identified zonefails to illuminate the correct LED, then there is a loss of continuityin the cable at the wire that corresponds to the LED. In yet anotherembodiment, if any single identified zone illuminates more than one LEDthen there is a shortage somewhere between zones. In one embodiment, ifany step illuminates the wrong LED, then the cable is improperly wired.At 208, any of such results may be stored or otherwise maintained at aprocessing unit included within the testing apparatus 100.

In some instances, the cable may be manually tested using a probe. Morespecifically, the probe allows for the manual testing of the cables,which is handy for testing cables with (mold end connectors) that aredifferent than the connector on the cable tester box. The probe is alsothe only way to test the ground on the cable. For example, to manuallytest the cable, the end (controller end) of the cable may be pluggedinto the testing apparatus 100. Subsequently, the probe may be used totouch each pin on a connector (e.g., first connector 101, secondconnector 115) at the opposite end of the cable and the correspondingLED should illuminate when contact is made. To test ground, the end(controller end) of the cable may be plugged into the testing apparatus101. Subsequently, the probe may be touched to the ground strip on agiven connector and, in response, the ground LED should illuminate.Subsequently, the probe may be touched to the ground strip on a givenconnector and, in response, the ground LED should illuminate.

In the present disclosure, the methods disclosed may be implemented assets of instructions or software readable by a device. Further, it isunderstood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methodsdisclosed are instances of example approaches. Based upon designpreferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps in the method can be rearranged while remaining within thedisclosed subject matter. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not necessarilymeant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The described disclosure may be provided, in part, as a computer programproduct, or software, that may include a machine-readable medium havingstored thereon instructions, which may be used to program portions ofthe testing apparatus 100, other computer system, or other electronicdevices, to perform the various processes described in the presentdisclosure. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storinginformation in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readableby a machine (e.g., a computer). The machine-readable medium mayinclude, but is not limited to, magnetic storage medium, optical storagemedium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium, read only memory(ROM); random access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g.,EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; or other types of medium suitable forstoring electronic instructions.

It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosedsubject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages.The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of thefollowing claims to encompass and include such changes.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference tovarious embodiments, it will be understood that these embodiments areillustrative and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited tothem. Many variations, modifications, additions, and improvements arepossible. More generally, embodiments in accordance with the presentdisclosure have been described in the context of particularimplementations. Functionality may be separated or combined in blocksdifferently in various embodiments of the disclosure or described withdifferent terminology. These and other variations, modifications,additions, and improvements may fall within the scope of the disclosureas defined in the claims that follow.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations from thespecific embodiments disclosed above are contemplated by the invention.The following invention should not be restricted to the aboveembodiments, but should be measured by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A testing apparatus for testing a cablecomprising: a dial operatively connected to a housing containing: afirst electrical connector, wherein the first electrical connector is:wired to a first wire of a cable; and operatively connected to a firstvisual indicator connected to at least one first resistor and a powersource; a second electrical connector, wherein the second electricalconnector is: wired to a second wire of the cable; and and operativelyconnected to a second visual indicator connected to at least one secondresistor and the power source; and wherein, in response to manipulatingthe dial to identifying a first zone corresponding to the first wire andthe first visual indicator, the first electrical connector is configuredto illuminate the first visual indicator; wherein, in response tomanipulating the dial to identifying a second zone corresponding to thesecond wire and the second visual indicator, the first electricalconnector is configured to illuminate a second visual indicator; andwherein the cable is functioning properly when the first visualindicator and the second visual indicator both illuminate.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the cable is not functioning properly whenthe first visual indicator and the second visual indicator do not bothilluminate.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first electricalconnector and the second electrical connector are implemented accordingto a wiring diagram provided by a customer.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising a third electrical connector, wherein the secondelectrical connector is: wired to a third wire of the cable; andoperatively connected to a third visual indicator connected to at leastone second resistor and the power source.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first visual indicator and the second visual indicator arelight emitting diodes.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housingis in the form of a box having a lid, wherein the first and secondvisual indicators are located protruding through a front surface of thelid.
 7. A method for testing a cable comprising: manipulating a dial toidentify a first zone corresponding to a first electrical connector,wherein the first electrical connector is: wired to a first wire of acable; and operatively connected to a first visual indicator connectedto at least one first resistor and a power source; manipulating the dialto identify a second zone corresponding to a second electricalconnector, wherein the second electrical connector is: wired to a secondwire of the cable; and operatively connected to a second visualindicator connected to at least one first resistor and a power source;in response to manipulating the dial to identify the first zonecorresponding to the first wire and the first visual indicator,illuminate the first visual indicator; in response to manipulating thedial to identify the second zone corresponding to the second wire andthe second visual indicator, illuminate the second visual indicator; andwherein the cable is functioning properly when the first visualindicator and the second visual indicator both illuminate.
 8. The methodof claim 7, wherein the cable is not functioning properly when the firstvisual indicator and the second visual indicator do not both illuminate.9. The method of claim 7, wherein the first electrical connector and thesecond electrical connector are implemented according to a wiringdiagram provided by a customer.
 10. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising: manipulating a dial to identify a third zone correspondingto a third electrical connector, wherein the third electrical connectoris: wired to a third wire of the cable; and operatively connected to athird visual indicator connected to at least one first resistor and apower source.